Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget 2018 in Parliament on February 1, 2018, the last comprehensive budget of the Narendra Modi government before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections Jaitley's budget allocated billions of dollars for rural infrastructure and launched a health insurance program for around 500 million poor people. Jaitley said: “We have committed to the people of India to give this nation honest, clean and transparent government. We promised leadership capable of making tough decisions and restoring the strong performance of the Indian economy. We promised to reduce poverty, accelerate infrastructure creation and build a strong, confident New India. When our government took over, India was considered part of the “fragile 5”; a nation suffering from political paralysis and corruption. We have definitely reversed the situation. The government, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has successfully implemented a number of key structural reforms. As a result, India stands out among the fastest growing economies in the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The path of economic reforms in recent years has been challenging but rewarding. Thanks to the reforms undertaken by the government, foreign direct investments have increased. The measures taken by the government have made doing business in India much easier. Natural resources are now allocated transparently and honestly. There is a premium on honesty. There was a time when corruption was commonplace. Today our people, especially our youth, are curious to lead their lives honestly. The indirect tax system has been simplified with the introduction of the goods and services tax. Benefits for the poor have been targeted more effectively with the use of digital technology. Demonetization of high-value currency has reduced the amount of cash and circulation in India. It has increased the tax base and spurred greater digitalisation of the economy. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has changed the lender-debtor relationship. Recapitalized banks will now have greater capacity to support growth. All these structural reforms in the medium to long term will help the Indian economy achieve stronger growth over a long period. The Indian economy has performed very well since our government took office in May 2014. India achieved an average growth of 7.5% in the first three years of our government. The Indian economy is now worth $2.5 trillion, the seventh largest in the world. India is expected to become the fifth largest economy very soon. Based on purchasing power parity (PPP), we are already the third largest economy. Indian society, political system and economy have shown remarkable resilience in adapting to structural reforms. GDP growth of 6.3% in the second quarter signaled a turning point in the economy. We hope to grow from 7.2% to 7.5% in the second half. The IMF, in its latest update, expects India to grow by 7.4% next year. The manufacturing sector is back on a good growth path. Services, the pillar of our growth, have also resumed their high growth rates, above 8%. Our exports are expected to grow by 15% in 2017-18. We are now firmly on track to achieve high growth of 8% and above. We have adopted programs to direct the benefits of structural changes and good growth to farmers, the poor and other vulnerable sectorsof our society and to lift up underdeveloped regions. This year's Budget will consolidate these gains and will particularly focus on strengthening agriculture and the rural economy, providing good healthcare to the economically less privileged, caring for the elderly, creating infrastructure and on working with states to provide more resources to improve the quality of education. in the country. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has always emphasized the importance of good governance. He articulated the vision of ''MinimumGovernment and Maximum Governance''. This vision has inspired government agencies to implement hundreds of reforms in policies, rules and procedures. This transformation is reflected in India's improved ranking by 42 places in the last three years in the World Bank's "Ease of Doing Business" ranking, with India entering the top 100 for the first time. I would like to congratulate all those who they worked to achieve this goal. Now, our government has further improved the ease of doing business by emphasizing "ease of living" for the common men of this country, especially those belonging to the poor and middle class. the company. Good governance also aims to minimize government interference in the lives of the common people of the country. The government provides free LPG connections to the poor of this country through Ujjwala Yojana. Under Saubhagya Yojna 4 million families are provided with electricity connections. More than 800 medicines are being sold at lower prices through more than 3,000 Jan Aushadhi centres. The costs of stents were controlled. A special program for free dialysis for the poor was started. People belonging to the poor and middle class are also given a large reduction in interest rates on housing schemes. Efforts are being made to provide all government services, be it bus or train tickets or individual certificates online. These include passports that can be delivered to your doorstep in two to three days or company registration in one day and these facilities have benefited a large section of our country. The attestation of the certificate is not mandatory; interviews for appointment to Group C and Group D posts have been eliminated. These measures have saved thousands of young people time and money. Our government, using modern technology, is committed to providing relief to those suffering due to stringent rules and regulations, while undertaking these reforms and programs, we have worked sincerely and without weighing the political costs. Our government has ensured that the benefits reach the eligible beneficiaries and are delivered to them directly. Many services and benefits are provided to people directly to their homes or accounts. It reduced corruption and delivery costs and eliminated intermediaries in the process. India's Direct Benefit Transfer Mechanism is the largest exercise of its kind in the world and is a global success story. Sector-level fund allocation and budget sharing: Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay1. Defense: In the previous budget for 2017-2018 the funds allocated to the defense sector stood at INR 267,000 crore and the defense sector shared 12% of the total value of the budget 2017-2018. In the current budget 2018-2019 the defense sector shares 12% of the total budget value but the funds allocated for the defense sector amount to INR 283,000 crore which ultimately shows that there is an increase in the budget current.